For the second consecutive season United went and surrendered on the South Coast to a handy Southampton side. There’s been some patter on twitter about the Pardew vs Pochettino debate. I’d say the man from Argentina definitely has the backing of the media, and many mags by the sound of it.

However for all our failings, we are 2 points behind the Saints. Pochettino spent £35 million pounds in the summer. Quite a sum. We spent nothing. Pochettino hasn’t had his best player sold by the board, without a replacement being made. Pochettino has in many respects, better players than Pardew. Yet he’s only two points ahead of us in the table and got knocked out of both cups by a reserve Sunderland team. Pochettino probably has more than one right back and two central midfielders in his whole squad. He has several strikers and players who are fit and raring to go from the bench. Two points ahead? Either he’s not getting enough from his resources, or we’re actually quite good and have had a good season.

Well we aren’t good and our season fell apart in late December realistically.

So forgetting Saturdays shambles for a moment, maybe Pochettino has an idea of how to set up his team against teams around him in the League. We neither showed Southampton or Everton any respect by shutting up shop and aiming to keep them out first and foremost, nor did we have a real go at beating them. Perhaps Pochettino doesn’t staunchly stick with a Centre Back pairing with no defensive organisation skills and who have escaped the blame for two quite frankly, outrageously shit performances. There’s the possibility the Southampton manager would have the balls to drop the likes of Sissoko and Goufrann who, despite having good first halves of the season, have been so abject of late you have to feel sorry for the young, sometimes out of positions, full backs who they leave utterly exposed. Perhaps any other manager would be able to tell Cheick Tiote, it’s okay to get booked, especially now he can’t get a ban. Tiote wanders round the pitch doing fuck all. I was never that bothered about all the yellows because of the panic he’d inspire in some of the most gifted CM’s in the game. So what if he missed three games a year. He was good, now he’s part of one of the worst teams in the league at the moment, if not the-worst, alongside Sunderland. Hatem Ben Arfa can’t arse himself to get fit. He’s still our best player, sadly. Jonas Guitierrez was hoyed out on loan to save a few quid. See this article here on how one of my favourite all time NUFC players was treated by our manager http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/norwichs-jonas-gutierrez-newcastle-exit-3029641 .

At the moment United have no right back, no competition for places, no passion, no pride and no strikers. What must Yanga-Mbiwa be thinking? He arrived firmly in the French squad, at a cost of £6 million. He can’t get a game ahead of Mike Williamson who for all his fanfare, is terrible and cannot be trusted with the ball. Santon and Krul were internationals two years ago. They’ll not be at the world cup this summer. Neither will one time Dutch international, Vurnon Anita. Somehow Moussa Sissoko will be there it would seem. If I was the Argentine coach I would be staying miles clear of Colo at the moment, he’s been shit. Overall we are yet again a shambles and a change of manager would seem the best way forwards, As much as I have supported Pardew over the years, it is now one too many heavy defeats for him to be taken seriously as a Premier League coach. I can have my mind changed with some good results and performances most likely, but we need a new manager.

Like the Everton game we’ve been ignored by the press as a whole. Instead put opponents (who will not face easier opposition all season) have gained plaudits for not doing a lot.

Lee Ryder’s final whistle match report is neither cutting nor contains any gloating (not that he wants United to get beat, he just despises Pardew).

I think Williamson has done well this season, but he is the same player who was pushed back to 5th choice last year. He does the basics of defending well, but he only ever plays well in victory and if Colo or a partner is playing well besides him.

Good teams don’t have centre backs who can’t be trusted on the ball. He can be in acres of space and still doesn’t ask to recieve the ball or often tells players to boot it away rather than recieve a pass.

Well done for a clear-headed article.
No, we don’t have a bad squad: I would love for a stat-fiend to tabulate “points gained” and/or “goals scored” per “£ spent” among PL clubs last summer. I reckon we would be top three. I know this is bog-all consolation for the poor souls travelling the length of the country to watch a shambles; and that they have every right to be extremely angry. But let’s not turn on our players.
I think Tiote is trying to use his judgment: he is trying to stay on the pitch as he knows there are no alternatives and he is the only source of experience in the team. Which is doing him and us little good, but he is not lazy.
HBA is looking trimmer and sharper every time I see him; he is no Nicolas Bendtner. Where he goes wrong is when he is trying much too hard; all this sort of player needs is a good mentor (senior player or coach) to get him to relax, take a more strategic view of his game and settle in the team. Only problem is, we have no senior players because Pardew and Ashley culled them all.
The rest: Pardew sets them up to play to a very conservative, 1990’s style system and some times it works and some times it doesn’t. Given our position of safety, it’s very interesting that Pardew is totally reluctant to try anything new (apart from that time when we tried to play against Sunderland without any strikers).
Add the lack of competition for places and you can see why footballers’ brains and “killer” instincts (eg Sissoko, Debuchy) are wasting away.

Hi Rob
If Giggs and Scholes can be useful players at 40 (and Totti, Maldini, etc had similar career trajectories), I reckon 27 is not too late at all for HBA. There is plenty of opportunity to squeeze at least 3-4 years of good football out of him.
But I take your point – it would have been easier to nurture talent if our club hadn’t been a total basket case for the last 3-4 years (or should that be 30-40?).

After the last four perfomances (including the lucky win aganst CP,) I have a feeling that Pards has been talking to Guillet,Souness and Dalgliesh on how to manage NUFC.Absolute garbbage,for the life of me ,on these performances, I will be really surprised if we pick up any more points this season.Pardew has no manmanagement skills or any idea how to get the best out players,and is too chicken shit to do a Keegan and walk.
As for signings in the summer I doubt if we will add to the squad,never mind improve it after the last two windows.

Seymour, McKeag, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Souness, Allardyce…not one of those ever disrespected, disgraced and downright took the piss out of this club as much as Ashley and Pardew have. How anyone (apart from that toadying cowardly prick Bob Moncur) can defend either owner or manager – surely two of the worst liars ever to grace the English game – after this travesty of a season is beyond me.

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